Handsaw



Au 21', 19 0. A. c. FERGUSON 2,213,135

' HANDSAW Filed May 25,1938

Patented Aug. 27, 1940 Alan 0. Ferguson, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Parker Wire Goods Company, Worcester, Mass,

a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 25, 1938, Serial No. 210,004

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to handsaws, particularly those of the key-hole type wherein provision is made for removal and replacement of the blade of the saw. An object of the inven- 5 tion is to provide for saws of this class an easily manufactured handle construction, which incorporates a blade-retaining device that serves with equal efiiciency for both wide and narrow blades. Other and further objects of the inven- 10 tion will be made apparent by the following detailed description thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a View in side elevation of a handsaw embodying my invention.

15 Fig. 2 is a bottom view of said saw.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the blade-retaining device.

20 Like reference characters refer to like parts in the diiferent figures.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the saw of my in-. vention has a handle I of any suitable material, such as hard rubber or the like, the same being 25 shaped or molded to provide a grip portion 2 depending from a relatively narrow socket portion 3 that alines with the saw blade and receives the latters inner end. In the fabrication, by molding or otherwise of this handle, the portion 3 30 thereof is left hollow, in the form of a narrow vertical slot 4 whose depth from the front face 5 of the handle member corresponds substantially to the length of an elongated metal member 6 (Fig. 4) which snugly fits and is received in said 35 slot.

The member 6 consists, as shown, of a rectangular piece of sheet metal whose upper and lower edges are bent over, as shown at I, "I, to provide full-length opposed folds or legs 8, 8 oo- 40 cupying a plane parallel to but slightly offset from the plane of the flat intermediate portion 9 of said piece; beyond said legs 8, these edges have additional slight offsets I0, I running the full length of the piece and forming opposed legs II,

45 II which occupy a plane parallel to the portion 9 and offset therefrom a greater distance than the legs 8, 8. Said portion 9, substantially midway between its end edges, and also midway of the folds or side edges 1, I, has its material struck 50 up to provide a circular hollow boss I2, on the interior surface of which is formed a screw thread I3. To accommodate this boss, one vertical side of the slot 4 in handle portion 3 is formed with a longitudinal groove I4, as best 55 shown in Fig. 3.

The cross section of slot 4 corresponds substantiallyto the cross section of the member 6, the latter having a drive fit in said slot, and when driven home therein, substantially filling said slot and being firmly and fixedly united and imbedded in the handle, on account of the strong frictional grip obtained by the legs 8, 8 and II,

I I with the slot walls, from the natural spring of the material of member 6. In this driven-home position of member 6, the latters apertured boss 10 I2 registers with a hole I5 in one side of handle portion 3, for the entrance to and engagement with the threaded boss aperture of a suitable screw I6, having a knurled head I'I. As best shown in Fig. 3, the portions 9, I, I and 8, 8 of member 6 outline a narrow interior slit which is of substantially the right height and width to receive snugly the wide inner end of a tapering saw blade it of the key-hole type; when such a blade is so inserted in member 6, it is held firmly and rigidly in the handle I by the pressure against its face of the screw I6, there being no opportunity for the blade in use to rock and work loose, on account of the great length of the engagement of said blades edges by the bends I, I of member 6. If it be desired for any reason to use in place of blade I8 a conventional hack saw blade, as indicated at I9, Fig. 3, this is permitted because the vertical distance between the interior surfaces of offsets I0, I0 corresponds substantial- 1y to the Width of such a blade I9; the latter, when inserted in member 6 with its edges contacting said offsets I0, I0, is thrust, by tightening the screw I6, against the legs II, II and is held just as securely in the handle as the blade As best shown in Fig. 2, the blade-receiving portion 3 of my improved saw handle is made relatively thin, by comparison With the grip portion 2,this reduction in thickness being of advantage in that it minimizes the lateral projection or offset of head I! of blade-retaining screw Iii from the side surfaces of the handle, so as to avoid as far as practicable the possibility of any accidental contact of this screw head with adjacent yvorlosurfaces, in the operation of the saw. But this narrowing of the handle is without any handicap to the latters efficient use in transmitting handpressure to the blade, since the handle proper, above the narrow socket portion 3, has its edge upturned slightly, as shown at 20, and widened appreciably as shown at 2|, 2|, thereby to afford a surface especially adapted and shaped to receive the pressure of the user's thumb.

I claim,

1. In a handsaw, a non-metallic handle having a recess in one end, a sheet-metal member snugly received in said recess, said member contacting one recess wall and having folded edges engaging the opposite recess wall, said edges making a plurality of ofisets from the body of said member to provide a plurality of blade-receiving channels of different widths, and a screw extending through said handle and body and common to said channels for engaging and holding a saw blade received in either of said channels.

2. In a handsaw, the combination with a nonmetallic handle, of a sheet-metal blade-holding 15 insert for said handle, said insert having a central body portion and having inturned sides, said sides having base portions spaced from said body portion to provide a relatively wide blade-receiving channel, and said sides having free edge portions difierently spaced from said body portion to provide a relatively narrow blade-receiving channel, said handle having at one end a recess of substantially the same cross-section and length as said insert, to snugly receive and hold said insert by the inherent spring of the latters material, and means extending through said handle and said body portion, and common to both of said channels, for engaging and holding a saw blade received in either of said channels.

ALAN C. FERGUSON. 

